As the General elections edges closer and clan alignments take shape, two major sub-clans of Garissa County on Friday sealed an agreement that will see them form an alliance in their bid to capture key political seats in the county.

The pact between the Samawathal and Sinwaq sections of the larger Ogaden clan that inhabit Garissa county comes after three days of consultative meetings at a Nairobi hotel that was attended by political and religious leaders, elders, businessmen and professionals from both sides.

In a press briefing, Former Fafi MP Ibrahim Mohamed Salat said the agreement will see Sinwaq take the Governor and Women representative positions while the Samawathal will front candidates for the Senatorial and Deputy Governor Positions.

“We are two of the largest communities living in Garissa and we are forming this alliance to gift the County an able leadership that will steer it to greater heights” said Salat.

The two sides came to the negotiation table after holding their own primaries that saw the Sinwaq side front Ali Bunow Korane for the position of Governor and Madam Anab Subow as the women representative.

Samawathal who got the Senatorial and Deputy Governor Positions will leave Current Senator Yussuf Haji defend his seat but are yet to identify a candidate for the latter.

Majority leader Aden Duale who led the Sinwaq side termed the meeting a success adding that the two communities will rally behind and front their candidates on Jubilee tickets in the 2017 polls.

“Our prayer is that Garissa will emerge as the best top managed counties with a vision for its people and the fruits of devolution will be visible in all aspects including health care, education, food and security, water, sanitation and both social and security to all” said Duale.

Jama hails from the Awliyan sub-clan while his deputy Abdullahi Hussein is from the Abdalla of Samawathal.

Sinwaq did not go into any alliance in the last elections and even fronted two gubernatorial candidates culminating in Ali Bunow Korane’s loss to Nathif Jama.

The community is however playing its arithmetic this time to ensure the land the elusive seat.

Another headache for the Sinwaq-Samawathal alliance will be the hotly contested Garissa township seat which was not discussed today despite the fact that Majority leader Aden Duale, a key Sinwaq leader, is facing stiff competition from the immediate former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Farah Maalim.

In what analysts see as another anti-Duale strategy, Farah Maalim has switched parties and moved to the Kalonzo Musyoka led Wiper party, a member of the opposition coalition CORD.

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